Chair Jennifer Sarlo
Jennifer was first elected as a Trustee for the Algoma District School Board in 2006 serving Ward One in Sault Ste. Marie. In 2009, Jennifer became Vice Chair of the Board and in December 2011, she was elected as Chair, a position she has held consecutively for the past eleven years. She has served as a member of ADSB’s Finance and Operations Committee, the Audit Committee, the Discipline Committee, and the Transportation Consortium. Jennifer was also played an active role in the School Effectiveness Visits and the New Schools Steering Committee.
Jennifer was first elected as a Trustee for the Algoma District School Board in 2006 serving Ward One in Sault Ste. Marie. In 2009, Jennifer became Vice Chair of the Board and in December 2011, she was elected as Chair, a position she has held consecutively for the past eleven years. She has served as a member of ADSB’s Finance and Operations Committee, the Audit Committee, the Discipline Committee, and the Transportation Consortium. Jennifer was also played an active role in the School Effectiveness Visits and the New Schools Steering Committee.
Jennifer is a respected voice provincially with the Ministry of Education and has served with the Ontario Public School Board Association (OPSBA) as a Policy Work Team member and a Program Work Team member advising the government on issues and policies that impact the education system. She has been a past member of OPSBA’s conference planning committee, a conference panel member, and an AGM workshop presenter.
Prior to being elected to the Algoma District School Board, Jennifer was the Chair of ADSB’s School Council Coordinating Committee (SCCC) now known as the Parent Involvement Committee (PIC). She was also the Chair of Grand View Public School’s School Council.
Jennifer is an involved and respected member of her community and her church. She has been a Ministry lead in numerous capacities at Bethel Bible Chapel and served the Board at the Centre for Social Justice and Good Works for 5 years. Since 2013 Jennifer has coordinated the Coldest Night of the Year event in support of St. Vincent Place which has raised over $700,000. She is a team lead at St. Vincent Place Soup Kitchen, a past president of the board of ABK Bible Camp (board member for 16 years) and regular volunteer and is currently a member of 100+ Women Who Care Sault Ste. Marie.
Following her acclimation, Jennifer welcomed ADSB’s four newly elected trustees to the board. “We look forward to working with you over the next term! Your unique experiences will bring new perspectives to our group and we look forward to learning alongside you as we serve our students and communities. The learning curve can be steep and we want to ensure that you feel informed and engaged from the outset, so our first order of business will be to provide support and professional development. We look forward to maintaining the strong, respectful relationships, for which our board is known, with our Director Lucia Reece and the passionate team of leaders who join us around this table. Change at any level is a driver for growth and opportunity and we look forward to learning and growing together as lead learners in the ADSB.”
Vice Chair Elaine Johnston
Elaine is the ADSB’s First Nation trustee and has served on the Algoma District School Board for the last 8 years. From Serpent River First Nation, Elaine has served on numerous Boards and committees at the local, regional and national level. She is the Chair of the Indigenous Trustee Council of the Ontario Public School Board Association (OPSBA). Presently she is also the Chair of the Elliot Lake Hospital Board. Elaine is the former Chief of Serpent River First Nation, a position she held for four and a half years. She sat on Council for 10 years and was a former Chair of the Nogdawindamin Board and Vice Chair of Mamaweswen, the North Shore Tribal Council. She worked at the Assembly of First Nations and the Anishinabek Nation. Elaine has presented to the United Nations, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and to numerous standing committees, to name just a few.
Elaine attended post-secondary education at Cambrian College and Sudbury Laurentian University and received training as an Ambulance & Emergency Care Attendant, Paramedic along with her diploma and degree in nursing. Her career in health provided her opportunities to work in the hospital, ambulance, air ambulance, community, the Canadian Coast Guard, government and First Nation organizations.
Following her appointment as Vice Chair of the Algoma District School Board, Elaine shared, “As an experienced and skilled leader, I am knowledgeable about Good Governance. I have a passion for supporting Public Education and that Every Child Matters – Every Child regardless of their race, colour, religion, beliefs or ability. I understand and appreciate the role of Trustee and the role of the School Board. Co-operative decision making and collaborative action are critical for good governance. I support the principles of Human rights, equity, diversity and inclusion in what we do as a Board.”
Elaine continues as Algoma District School Board’s First Nation Trustee. The North Shore Tribal Council Education Department coordinated the selection process and Elaine was acclaimed as the successful candidate for the 2022-2026 term. This is Elaine’s third term as ADSB’s First Nation Trustee having been first appointed in 2014.